Concept art for Spider-Man: No Way Home reveals an alternate version of Max Dillon/Electro's (Jamie Foxx) look in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film that's much more comics accurate.
Shared to Instagram by concept artist Phil Saunders, who is known for his work on such projects as 2008's Iron Man and 2019's Avengers: Endgame, the image was a potential design for Electro in No Way Home. As Saunders reveals, this particular look was tied to an earlier version of the film in which Electro and the movie's other villains raided a Damage Control container filled with Stark Tech to upgrade themselves. "I had Max hot-wire a daisy-chain of Mk50 arc reactors as a power-up," Saunders revealed. "Peter Parker would have made the suit underneath as a kind of Faraday cage to contain Electro's energy and keep him corporeal." Several elements of this design made it into the final version of No Way Home.
Based on the comic book character of the same name, Foxx debuted as Electro in 2014's The Amazing Spider-Man 2, which featured Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker/Spider-Man. Dillon gained his powers after falling into a tank filled with genetically-engineered electric eels. However, that version of the character looked much different than the one in No Way Home as the result of a redesign. Following the movie's release, Foxx explained Electro's look in No Way Home was different so as to ground the character more. Additionally, Electro's abilities were limited so as to keep him from becoming overpowered.
Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, Electro first appeared in 1964's The Amazing Spider-Man #9. Over the years, he's proven one of Spider-Man's deadliest foes and has served as a member of such supervillain groups as the Sinister Six and the Emissaries of Evil.
Set following the events of 2019's Spider-Man: Far From Home, No Way Home sees Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Tom Holland) enlisting the help of Doctor Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) to re-hide his identity after it was exposed to the world. However, the spell goes wrong, and a number of villains from previous Spider-Man franchises end up entering the MCU, including Foxx's Electro.
A critical and commercial success for Marvel Studios and Sony, No Way Home has earned a record-setting $1.866 billion worldwide despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. No Way Home was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. Currently, Marvel Studios and Sony are in the early stages of planning Spider-Man's future appearances.
Directed by Jon Watts from a script by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, No Way Home is in theaters now. The film arrives on Digital March 22 and on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD April 12.
Source: Instagram